World Class Journalism

May 26, 2016May 26, 2016

Obama: World leaders ‘rattled’ by Trump

President Barack Obama touched on the rancorous U.S. presidential race at a press conference Thursday from the G-7 summit in Japan, saying that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s statements had his fellow world leaders concerned.

By Euan McKirdy, CNNUpdated 12:17 PM ET, Thu May 26, 2016
“They’re rattled by him and for good reason,” Obama said. “Because a lot of the proposals that he’s made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude or an interest in getting tweets and headlines instead of actually thinking through what is required to keep America safe.”
“They are surprised by (Trump), not sure how to take some of his pronouncements,” the President added.
Obama said the world is watching the campaign.
Opinion: Who in the world really wants Donald Trump to win?
“The world pays attention to U.S. elections,” Obama said. “They pay more attention to our elections sometimes than we pay to theirs. The U.S. is … at the heart of the international order and even those countries that are critical of us…know that ultimately things don’t hold together so well if the U.S. isn’t making good decisions and they count on us to provide stability when making global decisions.”

Slovenia – Melania, the third Mrs. Trump, is from Sevnica. Some locals are hopeful a Trump win might lead to publicity and additional donations from Melania. (She gave to the local health clinic after the 2006 birth of their son, Barron.)
Indonesia – 2015 saw the announcement of Trump’s first and second properties in Asia, with a resort situated in “the most magnificent location in Bali” and another in Lido Lakes that shall be “the pride of Indonesia.”
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Sweden – This popular Swedish site allows people to give Donald a blast of trump(et). It’s been blown 110,000,000 times and counting.
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Ireland – In 2014, Trump invested $20 million in a property in County Clare — the downside is that it’s collapsing into the sea. His proposal to build what Friends of the Irish Environment termed a “monster sea wall” met with local outrage.

China – Trump-branded clothes that don’t read “Made in Mexico” often say “Made in China.” Trump explained this in 2011 by declaring, “China so manipulates their currency it makes it almost impossible for American companies to compete.”

The Donald Trump travel guide – Donald Trump is truly a man of the world, even if the world doesn’t always see it that way. Click through the gallery to see what we mean.

Scotland – Trump’s development of an Aberdeen golf resort triggered a vicious (and still ongoing) feud with neighbors, who gave their side in the 2011 film “You’ve Been Trumped.”

Czech Republic – Clearly not content with being known just as the birthplace of Ivana, the first Mrs. Trump, the Czech town of Zlin in 2014 staged the country’s largest ever pillow fight.

Scotland – Trump’s development of an Aberdeen golf resort triggered a vicious (and still ongoing) feud with neighbors, who gave their side in the 2011 film “You’ve Been Trumped.”
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Mexico – “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump famously said. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” This fiery Mexico City tribute shows how this statement went down in the country.

Germany – Kallstadt is Trump’s German ancestral home. However, when Deutsche Welle contacted Trump’s distant relations they elicited little more on the record than, “Hopefully this hype will ease up soon.”

Czech Republic – Clearly not content with being known just as the birthplace of Ivana, the first Mrs. Trump, the Czech town of Zlin in 2014 staged the country’s largest ever pillow fight.

People get ‘grumpy’
Asked about the continued divisiveness on display on the Democratic side of the 2016 race, Obama said people get “grumpy” during the primaries, including his own back in 2008, but will ultimately come together and argued that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders largely agree on the policy front, but differ on tactics.
The President said that and that it’s important to finish the Democratic primary contest in a way that doesn’t leave anyone with ruffled feathers.
“I would urge and have urged, both sides to stick to the issues,” Obama said. “They’re both good people, I know them both well, and I think its’ important to try to end this in a way that leaves both sides feeling proud of what they’ve done.”
He added, “I guarantee you that the eventual nominee sure wishes it were over now. It’s a grind, it’s hard.”The president said he wanted the Democratic primary to “play out, let voters make up their minds.”
Obama also largely deflected questions about Clinton’s use of a private email server, saying he’s addressed the topic previously and the questions would be better put to the campaign.

Thursday morning saw the leaders of Japan, the U.S., UK, Italy, Germany, France, Italy and Canada gather in the grounds of the Ise-Jingu shrine, a 2,000-year-old temple in central Japan.
Obama also said he is going to Hiroshima Friday to underscore the “very real risks” of nuclear weapons and the “urgency that we all should have,” he said.
He will become the first U.S. President to visit the Japanese city where the first atomic bomb was dropped.
Obama told reporters that the dropping of the bomb was an “inflection point in modern history” and is something “all of us have had to deal with in one way or another.”

20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama shakes hands with chef Anthony Bourdain in a shopping area of Hanoi on May 24. The President sat down with Bourdain to film a scene for CNN’s “Parts Unknown.”
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
People gather in the rain to watch Obama’s motorcade in Hanoi on May 24.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama meets with members of the Vietnamese Civil Society in Hanoi on May 24.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama delivers remarks at the National Convention Center in Hanoi on May 24. Obama made a forceful case for human rights in Vietnam and called for the “peaceful resolution” of disputes in the South China Sea.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama walks to the left of Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Monday, May 23.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama, with Secretary of State John Kerry and other Cabinet members, attends a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, third from right, on May 23.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama gives a toast during a state luncheon hosted by Vietnam’s President in Hanoi on May 23.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama holds a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on May 23. Obama announced the United States is fully lifting the decades-long ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam. He said the removal of the ban was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and dismissed suggestions it was aimed at countering China’s growing strength in the region.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
The two Presidents listen to their countries’ national anthems during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on May 23.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
From left: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk past the Kagura-den as they visit Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on Thursday, May 26. Obama is visiting Japan and Vietnam during his 10th trip to Asia.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
World leaders join in a ceremony to plant trees at Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on May 26. Obama and other major world leaders are in Japan for a Group of Seven, or G7, summit.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
From left: British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk together after a group photo session at the G7 summit in Shima, Japan, on May 26.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
U.S. President Barack Obama pauses for a translation during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Shima, Japan, on Wednesday, May 25.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, at the airport in Tokoname, Japan, on May 25.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama pays his respects during a visit to the Jade Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on May 24.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama waves to locals during a visit to a shopping district in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 24.
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama shakes hands with chef Anthony Bourdain in a shopping area of Hanoi on May 24. The President sat down with Bourdain to film a scene for CNN’s “Parts Unknown.”
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
People gather in the rain to watch Obama’s motorcade in Hanoi on May 24.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama meets with members of the Vietnamese Civil Society in Hanoi on May 24.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama delivers remarks at the National Convention Center in Hanoi on May 24. Obama made a forceful case for human rights in Vietnam and called for the “peaceful resolution” of disputes in the South China Sea.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama walks to the left of Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Monday, May 23.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama, with Secretary of State John Kerry and other Cabinet members, attends a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, third from right, on May 23.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama gives a toast during a state luncheon hosted by Vietnam’s President in Hanoi on May 23.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama holds a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on May 23. Obama announced the United States is fully lifting the decades-long ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam. He said the removal of the ban was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and dismissed suggestions it was aimed at countering China’s growing strength in the region.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
The two Presidents listen to their countries’ national anthems during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on May 23.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
From left: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk past the Kagura-den as they visit Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on Thursday, May 26. Obama is visiting Japan and Vietnam during his 10th trip to Asia.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
World leaders join in a ceremony to plant trees at Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on May 26. Obama and other major world leaders are in Japan for a Group of Seven, or G7, summit.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
From left: British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk together after a group photo session at the G7 summit in Shima, Japan, on May 26.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
U.S. President Barack Obama pauses for a translation during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Shima, Japan, on Wednesday, May 25.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, at the airport in Tokoname, Japan, on May 25.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama pays his respects during a visit to the Jade Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on May 24.
Hide Caption
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20 photos: Obama visits Vietnam, Japan
Obama waves to locals during a visit to a shopping district in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 24.
Hide Caption
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He added that the “backdrop of a nuclear event remains something that, I think, presses on the back of our imaginations.”
Obama also remarked on importance of reducing nuclear weapons and the progress made in that arena, citing the Iran deal.
Obama said that nuclear proliferation, particularly from North Korea, remained a major concern.
“Obviously ISIL using rifles, crude bombs, could kill a lot of people in a Paris or a Brussels and people are rightly insisting the world community stamp out ISIL and there is a reason why were focused on that,” he said, using another acronym for the terror group.

Obama and Vietnam’s ‘Queen of Hip Hop’ 01:58
But, he added: “We can’t focus on the short term … when you have a regime (in North Korea) that is so isolated and flouts international rules, devotes national resources hell bent on getting nuclear weapons.”
Obama said the G-7 meetings so far had been “extremely productive.”
“For us to (be able to) get together and focus on critical issues … is vitally important,” he said.
He said the meetings had focused on trade and issues facing the global economy, and how the group could work to accelerate growth and “put people back to work,” and the importance of stepping back from protectionist policies that leave countries collectively weaker.